Rain alarm



'Aug. 11, 1936. J. M METTING 2,050,623

RAIN ALARM Filed July 22, 1952 INVENTOR. JULIUS NMETTINE.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED. STATES ATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an alarm, and means actuating said alarm when it rains.

Goods, which should not become wet, whether they are sheltered or not sheltered, are fre- 5 quently exposed to the open air for purposes of ventilation, etc., which will also expose them to rain, hall or snow, in case the weather changes. It is one object of this invention to provide means which indicate such a change of weather, 10 and which actuate in such a case an alarm at the point to be protected or wherever it will be noticed by the attendants who are to close doors and windows or who are toremove the damageable goods to a shelter. 33 Another object of this invention is to provide means, into which a simple removable element is placed, a piece of blotter, a lump of sugar or a starched piece of textile for instance, said means actuating an alarm, when said object collapses or is dissolved when it gets Wet.

A further object of this invention is to provide the alarm actuating means in such a manner that they can be conveniently swung from an operative position into an inoperative position.

Still another object of this invention is to arrange a portable unit which may readily be mounted in an operative position, but which may be completely removed when not in use. n A device of this character is very desirable in connection with residences, for instance in case open windows are to be closed when it rains at night. I therefore direct the following description of this invention to a device which is ex- 35 emplarily adapted for such home use; the following description of such a device, which will more clearly explain the above stated objects and other objects of this invention, is more readily understood by means of the accompany- 40 ing, exemplary illustrations, in which:-

Fig. 1 shows, diagrammatically, an alarm of my invention arranged upon a window frame. Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of such a device swung into an inoperative position. 45 Fig. 3 shows a corresponding bottom view.

Fig. 4 shows a detailed view of the arm carrying the alarm actuating element, said element being shown to have collapsed in the rain. Fig. 5 illustrates in a detailed bottom View, a 50 modification of this invention.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the various views.

In the drawing a suitable plate II] is fastened upon the Window frame I! right next to the 55 sash, in relation to which I indicate the stile similar parts runway H2. The plate I is shaped in such a manner, that a bracket [3 may be suitably hooked into an eye M inserted in said plate, said bracket extending horizontally from said plate parallel to the sash. A reenforcing memher l5 of the bracket [3 rests upon a lower frontward extension l6 of the plate ID. The bracket it may be lifted out of the plate Hi.

The bracket carries at its free end a bolt I1, upon which is fulcrumed an insulated platform I8. From platform l8 horizontally extends the hollow arm l9 which is firmly retained upon the platform by means of struts (partly broken away in Fig. 2). The platform l8 with the arm I9 is shown to be swung out of the window in 15 Fig. 1, normally to bracket l3, whereas it is extended substantially in line with said bracket upon the inside of the window in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. An upright 2i arising from platform 18 carries an electric bell 22 and a source of current, dry cell 23 for instance, which is suitably protected by an enclosure 24. The diagram of Fig. 1 shows the cell 23 and the bell 22 to be connected to each other by a conductor 25; a lead 26 connects the former, the cell 23, to the 25 bolt ll, whereas the latter, the bell 22, is connected by lead 56 to jack 2? of a knife switch, which is mounted upon the board E8. The pointed end of rod 28, which is slidably accommodated in arm l5, represents the knife which 30 fits the jack 21. The rod 28 carries at its free end, which extends from arm IS, a flange 29. Said flange has a downward extension 36, from which a tension spring 3| extends to a hook 32 mounted on arm IS. The said tension spring 3! normally pulls the pointed end of rod 28 into the jack 21.

A jaw 33, which forms an upward extension of flange 29, forms a vise together with another jaw 3 which is mounted upon the arm I9. 4

Upon one of the struts 20 a shift lever 35 is fulcrumed at 35. The free end of said lever is operatively engaged,-by means of a metal stamping 31 which is slidable upon arm l9, upon the rod 28. Actuation of shift lever 35 will pull the rod 28 out of engagement with the jack 2?.

When the rod 28 is thus disengaged from the jack 2'5, the jaws 33 and 34 are apart and a collapsible element 38 may be inserted between 5 said jaws, which is engaged thereby in the manner shown in Fig. 2, when the lever 35 is released. The collapsible element 38 is of such nature, that it collapses when wetted by drops of rain or the like, for instance in the manner indicated in Fig. 4. When the collapsible element 38 has been collapsed, the spring 3| pulls the lever 28 into the jack 2'! thereby establishing a contact which may be interpreted for the purpose of this invention, as a grounding of the jack 2?. However, the circuit is still open between said ground (arm l9 and rod 26) and the bolt H. The alarm will therefore not ring when the de-- vice is in the extended position of Figs. 2, 3 and 5.

Another strut 39 extends from the board I8 to the arm 9, and it is brought into electrical contact with a contact blade lil extending from bolt ll, when the arm 29 is swung out of the window into the position of Fig. 1. Now the device is therefore in an operative position when the arm is thus extended out of the window. When the element 33 collapses, under those "circumstances, after having been wetted, the circuit between jack 2? and bolt H is closed through the ground, so that the alarm is now actuated. Actuation of the alarm will under those circumstances be interrupted either by recharging the vise 33, 34 inserting a new element 38, or by swinging the arm 99 from the position out of the window of Fig. 1 into the extended position of Figs. 2, 3 or 5. In the showing of *Fig. 5 a part of the square rod Al which corresponds to the rod 28 and part of the arm l9, which slidably accommodates the said square rod are broken away at 42. A clearance cut 43 is provided in the square rod 4| near the end thereof, so that hook M is formed upon the end of the rod. Between said hook and a flange 45 closing the end of arm I9, a collapsible element 4B, for instance a stick of a soluble salt, serves to retain the rod in a position in counter action against a compression spring which is compressed between the other end of arm l9 and a pin 48 upon said arm. But, in this instance, there is no jack to receive the flattened end 39 of rod 4| when the device is in the extended position shown, corresponding to the extended positions of Figs. 2 and 3.

The jack 5|, which serves to receive the end 49, extends from the bolt 17 in'a direction normal to the extended position of the arm 89, that is, the position in which the arm extends when swung out of the window. .In this instance the lead .50 connects therefore from the bell 22 to the ground, say .one of the struts '20 (that connection is not shown) and the circuit is closed when the arm is extended out of the window and when the element 46 collapses. As soon as the arm is swung into the room again, the knife part '39, i. e., the attenuated end of rod ll is pulled out of the jack 5!, so that the circuit is broken.

The position of the rod 4| and the attenuated end 39 thereof,--when the arm is swung into the operative position and when the element 46 is collapsed,is indicated by dot-dash lines lla and 49a in Fig. 5.

.It is understood that in connection with the various parts of my device, stops are provided suitably limiting the movements of said parts. Thus for instance I provide a stop 52 limiting the movement of lever 35 or a stop (lug) 53 on the bottom of board I8, which serves as a stop for the said board in the extended position of the said device.

Although I have shown and described one form of embodiment of my invention in detail, yetI .do not wish to be limited thereby, except as the state of the art and the appended claims may require, for it is obvious that various modifications and changes may be made in the form of embodiment of my invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a rain alarm, a support, an arm mounted on said support and movable thereon into a predetermined position, a switch jack mounted on said support, a switch knife mounted on said am and operatively aligned with said jack when said arm is in said predetermined position, an electric alarm and a source of current comprised in a circuit open between said jack and said knife, rain actuated means mounted on said arm, and .a means operatively controlled by said rain actuated means to move said knife into contact with said jack.

2. A rain alarm for a window, comprising an alarm, a support attachable to said window, an arm hinged on said support and adapted to be swung into and out of said window, a rain controlled means on said arm and swung therewith into and out of said window, and means controlled by said rain controlled means to operate said alarm, but ineffective when said arm is swung into said window.

JULIUS M. METTING. 

